Chapter One
Jane’s heart thudded inside her chest as she held her breath and waited for Kai to answer her question about Maggie Jones. Until he did, she wasn’t going to get her hopes up. Hearing the dragonman wanted to kiss her had sent a little thrill through her body, but she wasn’t about to live a life of him being nice one minute and an arsehole the next. As hard as it would be to walk away, she would do it if Kai didn’t pass this test.
Kai remained silent as his pupils flashed to slits and back again. She really wished she could hear what Kai’s dragon was saying to him.
After a full minute had passed, Kai’s low voice filled the room. “Maggie Jones was my true mate.”
Jane let out the breath she’d been holding. “Was, as in past tense?”
His jaw clenched a second before he replied, “She’s still alive. However, she chose another.”
“Wait, how is that possible? I thought once a dragon-shifter found their true mate, they went into a frenzy?”
Kai moved to the edge of her bed and sat down. The action reminded her that her dragonman had been shot only a few hours ago and wasn’t at full-strength.
Still, if Kai was in pain or tired, she couldn’t tell. He really was a master of self-control in all areas.
Well, except when it came to her.
Kai’s deep voice filled the room again. “While a male dragon-shifter will often know their true mate when they see him or her, it’s usually their first kiss that brings on the frenzy.” Kai’s piercing blue gaze never moved from hers. “Maggie never let me kiss her.”
Jane fisted the sheets on the bed. “So what did she do, then? Tease you and string you along? Is that why you needed the bars on the windows? So you wouldn’t go after her?”
“How do you know I wasn’t the one to run away?”
She raised her eyebrows. “That goes against everything I know about you.”
“This all happened eleven years ago, when I was twenty-one. Young dragon-shifter males spend their early twenties battling their dragon’s need for sex. In a small way, Maggie was right to be cautious.”
“Even with hormones raging through your body, I can’t see you forcing anyone. Stop stalling and tell me the rest of your story.”
Kai stared at her, but Jane didn’t look away. He stated, “I will if you stay quiet.” Jane motioned with her hands and Kai continued, “The bars came later, so let’s back up a bit.” Kai turned a little more toward her. “I met Maggie when I visited my mother, who lives with the Welsh dragon clan, Snowridge.”
Jane frowned, but her expression must’ve conveyed her question because Kai answered, “I was raised on Stonefire, but my mother moved there after my father’s death, after meeting her second—and true—mate and later had my half-sister. Since I was sixteen when she met her new mate, I decided to stay here with my uncle. However, I would visit her every once in a while.”
When Kai paused, Jane tucked away the information about Kai’s mother for later and waited patiently. In her experience, when you interrupted a story at an emotional point, you sometimes broke the spell and a person wouldn’t divulge their whole story.
Her silence paid off as Kai spoke again. “A few years after my sister was born, I was visiting and spotted Maggie for the first time. With her short black hair and brown eyes, my dragon knew instantly that she was meant for us.
“I was still learning to control my dragon. At the time, my beast often swayed me to his decisions. So when he demanded we pursue her, I didn’t fight him.
“I was twenty-one then, but Maggie was a few years younger than me and inexperienced with males. While dragon-shifters are a lot less prudish about sex than humans, there is still an awkward period like with adolescent humans.” Kai looked away and stared out the window. “I decided to be honest with her and told her she was my true mate. At first, she ran and avoided me. But after
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